New Haven’s Board of Alders approved a new “inclusionary zoning” law Tuesday night that would require more affordable housing to be built in new developments in exchange for tax breaks and abatement.
After years of debate and a recent amendment boosting the percentage of affordable housing required, the lawmakers voted 25 to 1 to approve the measure. It is scheduled to take effect for developers beginning the city review process after Feb. 18.
Under the law, developers building new construction or rehabbing existing buildings for housing would have to set aside varying percentages for those making 50% of the area mean income, or about $50,000 for a family of four.
Percentages range from 30% affordable for developments of 10 units or more on city land to 5% affordable in buildings of 75 units or more in neighborhoods outside of the city’s core.
Charles Decker, Ward 9 alderman and chairman of the board’s legislative committee, said the measure was necessary as rents continue to rise in the Elm City.
“This inclusionary zoning policy is a major undertaking toward the board’s priority of providing affordable housing for New Haven residents,” Decker said. “We have pledged to address this crisis.”
Decker added that additional tax incentives were necessary to continue the building boom that has transformed areas of the Hill, downtown and Wooster Square. “We want developers to actually build,” Decker said. “Inclusionary zoning is just one tool, but it is a necessary one.”
Ward 1 Alder Eli Sabin spoke of the many New Haven residents struggling with rising rents.
“We have a crisis, and we have to act,” Sabin said. “We will no longer have segregated luxury developments.”
The board’s sole dissent from the new measure was Anna Festa, the Ward 10 alder representing parts of East Rock. Festa said that developers were likely to take advantage of the new tax breaks and then offload the cost of the affordable units to market-rate tenants, further fueling rent inflation citywide.
“We’re constantly giving developers a break,” Festa said. “Eventually, we’re all going to need affordable housing if we continue on this trend.”
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
